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History BA(Hons)

2025-26

Undergraduate Open Days
Undergraduate Open Days

Start date

22 September 2025

Duration

3 years full-time
4 years inc. placement year
5 years part-time

Entry requirements

A Level - BBB-BCC

BTEC - DMM-MMM

See full entry requirements

Places available (subject to change)

50

About the course

Reasons to study

  1. History at Huddersfield is top in Yorkshire for Learning Opportunities, scoring 96 % based on experimental statistics from the National Student Survey 2023.
  2. The option to undertake a work placement in the UK or overseas could introduce you to a range of graduate prospects.
  3. You’ll have the chance to explore the award-winning archive at Heritage Quay and the Holocaust Centre North on campus.  

Keen to study history at degree level? History at Huddersfield is top in Yorkshire for Learning Opportunities, scoring 96%, based on experimental statistics from the National Student Survey 2023.

Studying history enables us to put ourselves and our societies into perspective, establishing connections between the events, ideas and people that built past and present worlds. Here in Huddersfield, you’ll develop your critical thinking and writing through the handling of primary sources and the material culture of the past, learning to become an independent researcher.

Nestled in the centre of historic Yorkshire, our course engages with both local heritage and international histories.It covers a range of eras, from the medieval and early-modern period to the modern world, and inspires you to make historical connections with contemporary global challenges.

Why study History BA(Hons)

We believe that students perform best in coursework and so there are no exams on our History course.Instead, we’ve carefully designed a first-year programme to give you strong foundations in the handling of sources, texts and artefacts from the medieval, early modern and modern period.You will then hone your skills and knowledge in a series of options in year two and three, including an independently supervised project and gain valuablework experience on our placement module, which you can complete alongside your studies or as a five-week block. An optional year-long placement, after the second year could also boost your graduate employment prospects.

During your studies, we encourage you to get creative and apply your historical learning to a range of outputs: among other things, you’ll have the opportunity to engage with history in a variety of ways including analysing a museum exhibition or working on your own piece of oral history. You’ll also benefit from behind-the-scenes access to our innovative and award-winning archive at  Heritage Quay and to the unique collections at the Holocaust Centre North.

You could join the student History Society, too, and organise trips, debates and social events to enhance your studies before heading out into the world and into your first role.

Our course gives you a range of skills, including good communication and analytical skills, independence and team working, and problem solving. You will also develop skills in management, research, and planning.

Following your studies, you may wish to head into post-university employment or further your education in, for example, modern history, ancient history, medieval history, British history, or another related area.

Course detail

Core modules:

Twentieth Century Britain

The module combines a chronological and thematic approach to introduce you to the major political, social, economic and cultural developments affecting British society in the 20th century. It places Britain into a global perspective, examining the international and imperial connections which shaped Britain’s interactions with the world. Through this you will examine how these global interactions helped shape a sense of the British self.

The Modern World

This module will focus on the political and social histories of a number of case studies considering the period from the end of the nineteenth century until the eve of the Second World War. Typical countries you will cover include a selection from a range of European and world powers including the USSR, the USA and France. In each case you will focus on the main political themes of the era such as democracy, fascism and communism and then consider them in wider social and cultural contexts. You will receive skills training integrated within the module.

Critical Thinking

Critical thinking enables us to go beyond the surface of information, using analytical skills to dissect, question, and evaluate ideas with a detective's curiosity and a scientist's precision. This skillset is common to all disciplines in the Humanities, where the challenge lies in unravelling complexities, probing assumptions, and exploring the neglected features of human culture, language and history. The module will hone your intellectual skills in reasoning and close analysis, improve your ability to present arguments effectively, and equip you to plan and conduct an independent research project. This module will also provide support for planning your personal and career development.

Sources and Approaches:1400-1700

This module looks at sources and approaches to the study of the medieval and early modern eras taken broadly to cover the period 1400-1800. This is a survey module deliberately covering a long chronological span enabling students to look at key aspects of the period. It will focus on England/Britain in relation to the wider world e.g. examining the Black Death as a Europe-wide pandemic, focusing on sources relating to the impact on the British Isles; The role of the monarchy in government; the impact of exploration on developing views of the world and the connection between empire and enslavement. It will take a thematic approach examining politics, society, and religion using case studies to highlight these. It will examine the sources that students can use to engage with medieval and early modern history from written and pictorial sources to examining museums.

Entry requirements

BBB-BCCat A Level .

120-104 UCAS tariff points from a combination of Level 3 qualifications.

Merit at T Level.

DMM-MMM in BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma.

  • Access to Higher Education Diploma with 45 Level 3 credits at Merit or above.
  • 120-104 UCAS tariff points from International Baccalaureate qualifications.

Offers will be subject to an interview, after which you will be invited to attend an Applicant Visit Day, at which you will have the opportunity to meet staff and current students. Read more about the interview process on our Interviews, auditions and portfolio pages.

If your first language is not English, you will need to meet the minimum requirements of an English Language qualification. The minimum for IELTS is 6.0 overall with no element lower than 5.5, or equivalent. Read more about the University’s entry requirements for students outside of the UK on our International Entry Requirements page.

Other suitable experience or qualifications will be considered. For further information please see the University's minimum entry requirements.

Placements


The course offers a compulsory 5-week work placement in Year 2. If you’re studying full-time, this course also offers an optional one-year (48 weeks) work placement after the second year, in the UK or abroad. This will give you the opportunity to gain valuable hands-on experience, insight into your chosen career and open up your graduate employment prospects. Our Placement Unit and academic staff have excellent industry links and can support you in applying for and finding your placement(s), as well as during your placement year.

Previous placement students have worked at places like National Coal Mining Museum, Barclays Group Archive, the Isle of Man Motor Museum, British Embassy, Bucharest, Carnegie Heritage Centre, Cromwell Museum Trust, Doncaster Heritage Services, Greenhead Solicitors, Hebden Bridge Arts Festival, Love Productions, The Royal Armouries, West Yorkshire Archives and a range of primary and secondary schools.

The work placement allows you to gain the skills you need and gives you the opportunity to express yourself in a professional work environment. I think the placement has given me so much more confidence in my own ability that I never had before.

Jack Barron

Jack Barron, History BA(Hons)

Our Department

Hear more from our staff and students.

Your Career


As a History graduate, you are valued for the advanced skills you have developed in analysis and communication, self-motivation, teamwork, creative problem solving and persuasiveness.

A selection of organisations that have employed Huddersfield graduates in recent years include BT, the Civil Service, the Royal Armouries Museum, the House of Commons, the British Red Cross, the British Library, West Yorkshire Police, the Department for Education and Emerald Group Publishing. Others have opted for PGCE study and have become teachers, or continued their studies at Master's level.*

*Percentage of our undergraduate students from this course go on to work and/or further study within fifteen months of graduating (HESA Graduate Outcomes 2019/20, UK domiciled, other activities excluded).

**Source: LinkedIn

 

95% Graduates employed*

Student support

At the University of Huddersfield, you'll find support networks and services to help you get ahead in your studies and social life. Whether you study at undergraduate or postgraduate level, you'll soon discover that you're never far away from our dedicated staff and resources to help you to navigate through your personal student journey. Find out more about all our support services.

Research excellence

Research plays an important role in informing all our teaching and learning activities. Through research, our staff remain up-to-date with the latest developments in their field, which means you develop knowledge and skills that are current and highly relevant.

98% of research produced by History at Huddersfield is internationally recognised, and two thirds of this is internationally excellent or world-leading. Our impact studies, which measure our influence on external partners and organisations, scored particularly highly, being rated 100% internationally excellent or world leading (REF2021). We extend our knowledge and understanding of History through the production of high-quality work, with funding coming from the AHRC, ESRC, the Wellcome Institute, the Leverhulme Trust and other significant grant providers. As part of this process, we have also invested in early career members of staff with great success, including through the Marie-Skłodowska-Curie Actions grants.

History hosts the Research Centre for History, Culture and Memory (CHiCaM), a cross-disciplinary research centre which runs seminars and projects and collaborates with external researchers. Current staff research includes: Richard III and the Princes in the Tower; the history of British humanitarian organisations and peace activism; and the Emily Hobhouse Letters Project. We also host a thriving postgraduate research community, with student joining us from across the world.

For more information, see the Research section of our website.

Important information

Although we always try and ensure we deliver our courses as described, sometimes we may have to make changes for the following reasons

When you enrol as a student of the University, your study and time with us will be governed by our terms and conditions, Handbook of Regulations and associated policies. It is important that you familiarise yourself with these as you will be asked to agree to them when you join us as a student. You will find a guide to the key terms here, along with the Student Protection Plan.

Although we always try and ensure we deliver our courses as described, sometimes we may have to make changes for the following reasons

Changes to a course you have applied for but are not yet enrolled on

If we propose to make a major change to a course that you are holding an offer for, then we will tell you as soon as possible so that you can decide whether to withdraw your application prior to enrolment. We may occasionally have to withdraw a course you have applied for or combine your programme with another programme if we consider this reasonably necessary to ensure a good student experience, for example if there are not enough applicants. Where this is the case we will notify you as soon as reasonably possible and we will discuss with you other suitable courses we can transfer your application to. If you do not wish to transfer to another course with us, you may cancel your application and we will refund you any deposits or fees you have paid to us.

Changes to your course after you enrol as a student

Changes to option modules:

Where your course allows you to choose modules from a range of options, we will review these each year and change them to reflect the expertise of our staff, current trends in research and as a result of student feedback or demand for certain modules. We will always ensure that you have an equivalent range of options to that advertised for the course. We will let you know in good time the options available for you to choose for the following year.

Major changes:

We will only make major changes to non-optional modules on a course if it is necessary for us to do so and provided such changes are reasonable. A major change is a change that substantially changes the outcomes, or a significant part of your course, such as the nature of the award or a substantial change to module content, teaching days (part time provision), type of delivery or assessment of the core curriculum. For example, it may be necessary to make a major change to reflect changes in the law or the requirements of the University’s regulators or a commissioning or accrediting body. We may also make changes to improve the course in response to student, examiners’ or other course evaluators’ feedback or to ensure you are being taught current best practice. Major changes may also be necessary because of circumstances outside our reasonable control, such as a key member of staff leaving the University or being unable to teach, where they have a particular specialism that can’t be adequately covered by other members of staff; or due to damage or interruption to buildings, facilities or equipment, or pandemics.

Major changes would usually be made with effect from the next academic year, but may happen sooner in an emergency. We will notify you as soon as possible should we need to make a major change and will carry out suitable consultation. If you reasonably believe that the proposed change will cause you detriment or hardship we will, if appropriate, work with you to try to reduce the adverse effect on you or find an appropriate solution. Where an appropriate solution cannot be found and you contact us in writing before the change takes effect you can cancel your registration and withdraw from the University without liability to the University for future tuition fees. We will provide reasonable support to assist you with transferring to another university if you wish to do so.

In exceptional circumstances, we may, for reasons outside of our control, be forced to discontinue or suspend your course. Where this is the case, a formal exit strategy will be followed in accordance with the student protection plan.

The Office for Students (OfS) is the principal regulator for the University.

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